In Continuation with Previous Post
2. Fear of Missing Out
Every
trend always has its doubters, but I often notice that many skeptics of
a trend will slowly become converts due to the fear of missing out on
profits or the pain of losses in betting against that trend. The fear of
missing out can also be characterized as greed of a sorts, for an
investor is not acting based on some desire to own the security - other
than the fact that it is going up without him on board. This fear is
often fueled during runaway booms like the technology bubble of the
late-1990s, as investors heard their friends talking about newfound
riches. The fear of missing out came into play for those who wanted to
experience the same type of euphoria.
When you think about it,
this is a very dangerous situation, as at this stage investors tend
essentially to say, "Get me in at any price - I must participate in this
hot trend!? The effect of the fear of missing out is a blindness to any
potential downside risk, as it seems clear to the investor that there
can only be gains ahead from such a "promising" and "obviously
beneficial" trend. But there's nothing obvious about it.
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